Background

Dua Lipa was born on August 22, 1995, in London, United Kingdom. She is the daughter of Kosovo Albanians Dukagjin Lipa and Anesa (Rexha) Lipa. Dua has two younger siblings - brother Gjin and sister Rina.

Education

Dua spent her early years in West Hampstead, London. As for her education, until the age of 11, she studied at Fitzjohn's Primary School, where she took music lessons as well. At the age of nine, Dua started taking weekend singing lessons at the Sylvia Young Theatre School.

After finishing primary school, Lipa and her family moved back to Pristina after Kosovo declared independence, where she would study at the Mileniumi i Tretë school. At the school, Dua learned more about the Albanian language and participated in various concert activities, which helped her reaffirm her idea of starting a musical career.

During her time in Kosovo, Lipa came to realize, that its smaller music industry might not match the type of music career, that she aspired to start. She hoped for a music career on more of a "global scale" and therefore decided to move back to London. She had lived in Kilburn before settling down in Camden. The future singer began studying at Parliament Hill School, where she attained her A-Levels in Politics, Psychology, English and Media. She also re-entered Sylvia Young Theatre School part-time.

Dua decided not to attend university in order to focus only on music.

Career

Dua's first job was in retail, when she was 16 years old, as well as on the doorstep of nightclubs. She also worked as a waitress at the Mexican restaurant La Bodega Negra in Soho, as a hostess at a nightclub in Mayfair, and as a model for the ASOS Marketplace virtual catalogue. Lipa was modeling only to gain contacts, that would help her with her goal of starting a musical career. Nonetheless got involved with Topshop, hoping "that could help her get out there." Dua signed with a modeling agency, helping her land a role as a "singer" in an ITV advertisement for The X Factor in 2013, where she covered the song "Lost in Music" (1979). Thanks to that role, Lipa got acquainted with a producer, who at the time worked with One Direction and Ed Sheeran, which led to an offer for a publishing contract. Later, the future singer was introduced through her solicitor to Ben Mawson, a Warner Bros. manager and Lana Del Rey's representative at the time.

It was with the help of Mawson, that Dua received a management deal with TAP Management thanks to which she was introduced to Emile Haynie, Andrew Wyatt and Stephen Kozmeniuk. In 2015, with her song, titled "Hotter Than Hell," Dua landed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Her promotional debut single, "New Love," produced by Emile Haynie and Andrew Wyatt and containing lyrics by her, was released in August 2015. However, it was with her next single "Be the One," released in October 2015, that Lipa achieved public recognition. The single, which acted as the first proper single for her upcoming eponymous debut album, reached the top 10 of the musical charts in over 11 European territories and reached No. 1 position in Belgium.

In November 2015, it was revealed, that Dua would be on the BBC "Sound of...2016" list. In January 2016, she began her first tour through the United Kingdom and Europe, which continued till November that year. On August 26, 2016, she released her next single, "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)," which was inspired by her earlier attempts to change herself physically to get modeling assignments, which badly affected her mindset. It became her first United States "Billboard Hot 100" entry at No. 72 and also topped the "Billboard Dance Club Songs" chart and peaked at No. 23 on the "Billboard Mainstream Top 40" chart.

In November 2016, Dua was featured on the Sean Paul single "No Lie," which reached number 10 in the United Kingdom chart. In January next year, she collaborated with Martin Garrix to release the single "Scared to Be Lonely," which peaked at No.14 in the United Kingdom.

After working on it for almost two years, on June 2, 2017, Lipa finally released her debut album, which reached No. 3 on the United Kingdom chart. The following month, she released "New Rules" song, which was her first single to reach the top of the United Kingdom chart. It charted on No. 2 in Australia, No. 6 in the United States and No. 6 in Canada.

It's worth noting, that Dua's performance at the Glastonbury Festival on June 23, 2017, pulled one of the biggest crowds for the event in recent times. In October 2017, she performed on BBC's music television show "Later... with Jools Holland." On February 21, 2018, Dua performed at the Brit Awards ceremony at the O2 Arena in London.

Dua Lipa collaborated with electronic music producer Whethan for the song "High" from the soundtrack of the film "Fifty Shades Freed," which was released in February 2018. In April that year, she provided vocals and contributed to the lyrics of the single "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris, which became her second chart-topping single in the United Kingdom.

In May 26, 2018, Dua performed in the opening ceremony of the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final in Kyiv. In September of that year, she performed at F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

It was also in 2018, that Dua started working on her second album, "Future Nostalgia," which was announced in December 2019. "Don't Start Now" became its lead single. Lipa's second single, leading up to the release of the album, was "Physical." It was released on January 30, 2020, and the song's music video was released a day later. "Physical" debuted at number 60 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. "Future Nostalgia" was released on March 27 to widespread critical acclaim, following the release of the record's third single "Break My Heart" on March 25.

On August 11, 2020, Lipa was named global ambassador of the French mineral water brand Évian.

On February 11, 2021, Dua released a single, titled "We're Good," along with "Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition."

In addition, during her career, Dua has been featured by several magazines as the cover girl. She signed with Next Models and also appeared in a number of editorials.

Achievements

• 

  Dua Lipa is a renowned British singer, songwriter, and former model, who has established herself as one of the leading artists of the current time with the release of her eponymous debut album in 2017. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and yielded eight singles, including "Be the One," "IDGAF," and the UK number-one single, "New Rules," which also peaked at number six in the United States. "New Rules" has also charted on No. 2 in Australia and No. 7 in Canada. It's also worth noting, that the album has achieved platinum status worldwide.
  
  Dua's 2018 single, "One Kiss," with Calvin Harris, peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and became the longest-running number-one single for a female artist in 2018.
  
  The singer's second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020), was widely acclaimed by critics and brought her six Grammy nominations. "Future Nostalgia" became her first UK number-one album, with four top-ten singles, including "Physical" and "Break My Heart." The album's lead single, "Don't Start Now," became the most successful 2020 song by a female artist in the United States.
  
  During her career, Lipa has attained a great number of prestigious awards, including the Grammy Awards, the Brit Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards, the Bambi Award, the Global Award, among many others. After organizing the Sunny Hill Festival, she was awarded the Pristina Key by then-Mayor of Pristina, Shpend Ahmeti.
  
  It's also worth noting, that, in 2021, Lipa was included on Time's 100 Next list of the future 100 most influential people in the world.

Works

More photos

• music

  • Don't Start Now 2019
  • IDGAF 2017
  • One Kiss 2017
  • Physical 2020
  • New Rules 2017
  • Levitating 2020
  • Break My Heart 2020
  • Fever 2020
  • Boys Will Be Boys 2020
  • Hallucinate 2020
  • Be the One 2015
  • Swan Song 2019
  • Good In Bed 2020

Religion

Dua was reared in a family of Muslim background.

Politics

Dua named the 2016 U.K. European Union membership referendum result as "devastating news." In November 2018, Lipa expressed dissatisfaction over the withdrawal of the U.K. from the European Union due to Brexit. She stated: "No refugee leaves their country without having to."

As for the United States politics, Dua criticized the construction of Donald Trump's border wall during his presidency in the United States. She believes that the country shouldn't have put him in power. On March 3, 2020, she urged Super Tuesday voters in the U.S. to pick Bernie Sanders as a candidate for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. In August 2020, she urged her Instagram followers to vote against Trump in the 2020 US presidential election. In October of the same year, the singer supported Joe Biden in his presidential campaign at a virtual event, aimed at Albanian Americans. On January 6, 2021 Dua denounced the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol on her Instagram story - she named pro-Trump protestors "terrorists."

Dua supported the #EleNão movement, also known as the protests against Jair Bolsonaro - the demonstrations, led by women, which took place in several regions of Brazil and, with less intensity, in other countries.

In June 2019, the singer expressed her support for the ongoing Sudanese transition to democracy on social media. In December the same year, Lipa endorsed the Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, in the 2019 United Kingdom general election. She called Boris Johnson's victory in the election a "total disaster."

On July 18, 2020, Lipa shared a post on her Instagram story, explaining "why Kosovo is not and will never be Serbia," urging followers to sign a petition, which asked Apple to include Kosovo in its mapping services as an independent nation. The following day, the singer published on her social media a banner, containing an irredentist map of Greater Albania, that reflected Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Greece and North Macedonia as one nation, appended with the definition of the word "autochthonous." As the image is commonly associated with extreme Albanian nationalism, Dua received a backlash on social media, where she was accused of ethnonationalism and fascism. Later, she stated that her post was "misinterpreted" by people, who promote ethnic separatism, an ideology, that she "completely rejects."

In November 2020, Dua commemorated Albanian independence by celebrating Flag Day, stating that she was "proud to be Albanian." In January 2021, Lipa urged her Instagram followers to encourage Kosovo citizens to vote in the 2021 Kosovan parliamentary election.

Views

Dua Lipa is a philanthropist. In 2016, her father and she co-founded the Sunny Hill Foundation in order to raise funds to help people in Kosovo, experiencing financial difficulties. Later, namely in August 2018 and 2019, she would arrange the Sunny Hill Festival for the foundation.

Dua is known for her work with UNICEF. In mid-November 2018, she took part in a campaign, organized by the agency, called "Go Blue" in support of children's rights. In April 2019, she became an UNICEF supporter and paid a three-day visit to a camp for refugee children and youth in Beirut, Lebanon. Lipa also visited young Palestinians and Syrians in Bourj el-Barajneh refugee camp.

Dua advocates for better mental health care for artists in creative industries.

Following the 2019 Albania earthquake, the singer raised funds to help families and victims, affected by the seismic event, creating a limited edition line of t-shirts, called "Pray for Albania," in collaboration with Albanian fashion designers, and asking her fans for donations and support for victims.

On March 15, 2020, Dua urged her fans to donate to the UNHCR agency to help it deal with COVID-19 pandemic. She continues to contribute to the fight with the disease of COVID-19, participating in different events and donating money.

After the 2020 Beirut explosion, Lipa, with the help of social media, urged Lebanese citizens to donate blood to victims.

Dua has also supported the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feed the Children, Children in Need and Comic Relief, among others.

It's also worth mentioning, that Dua supported the initiative, organized by Belgian singer Angèle and KickCancer Foundation, to fund research against childhood cancer.

Lipa identifies as a feminist. She has spoken out against sexism within the music industry, using social media to raise awareness of women's problems. The singer has also advocated for social equality amongst the LGBT community. Dua supports the Me Too movement and Time's Up movement.

Lipa expressed her views on women's rights in Saudi Arabia in a tweet due to the 2017-2018 lifting ban on women driving by Salman of Saudi Arabia, whose policy would not come into effect until June 2018, a fact which she described as "a step towards equality."

In May 2019, after the approval of Alabama abortion ban, Lipa spoke out in favor of abortion rights in the United States. Three months later, she showed her support for a campaign, called "Bans Off My Body," organized by Planned Parenthood against the restrictions on abortion in the United States.

Lipa has also shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement and has spoken against cancel culture, calling it "toxic" and "dangerous."

Quotations: "I'm learning to accept myself. I'm still in the process of learning to love who I am. And it's been really refreshing and really nice to be able to do that and be okay. I think my fans have brought that out in me."

"For a female artist, it takes a lot more to be taken seriously if you're not sat down at a piano or with a guitar, you know?"

"Success, to me, is just doing things that I'm really proud of."

"I like how powerful fashion makes me feel. I live for that grungy-prissy juxtaposition that Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Drew Barrymore wore in the '90s."

"My goal is to get my music out to as many people as possible. That a song of mine is being played on the radio so far away from home really, really pushes me. It's everything I've dreamed of."

Personality

Zoolander is one of Dua's favorite movies.

Physical Characteristics: Dua is 1,73 m tall.

Quotes from others about the person

• Ben Mawson on Lipa's songwriting: "We've seen artists who might get half a good song out of 10 writing sessions; with Dua, one in five or one in four is a banger. She gets results out of other people as well, because her personality is so engaging and she is so charismatic. She definitely has that special something."

Interests

• Meditation, yoga

• Politicians

  Joe Biden

• Writers

  The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera; Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams; The Color Purple by Alice Walker

• Artists

  James Turrell, Mark Rothko, Keith Haring

• Music & Bands

  Nelly Furtado, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child, Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Schoolboy Q, ASAP Rocky, Prince, Blondie, Jamiroquai, Moloko, Missy Elliott, J. Cole and Madonna

Connections

From 2013 to February 2017, Dua was in a relationship with English chef Isaac Carew. During the period from August 2017 to January 2018, she dated Paul Jason Klein. Then, from January 2018 to June 2019, Dua was again involved in a romantic relationship with Carew. On June 14, 2019, Lipa began dating Anwar Hadid.

Father:

Dukagjin Lipa

(born March 5, 1969)

Dukagjin used to be a vocalist in a Kosovan rock band, Oda, in addition to his day job as a marketing manager.

Mother:

Anesa (Rexha) Lipa

Friend:

Katy Perry

(born October 25, 1984)

Katy Perry (born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) is an American singer, songwriter, and television judge.

Brother:

Gjin Lipa

(born December 30, 2005)

Sister:

Rina Lipa

(born May 14, 2001)

ex-boyfriend:

Isaac Carew

ex-boyfriend:

Paul Jason Klein

Boyfriend :

Anwar Hadid

(born June 22, 1999)

best friend:

Sarah Lysander

Friend:

Taylor Swift

(born December 13, 1989)

Taylor Swift, in full Taylor Alison Swift, is an American singer and songwriter.

Friend:

Chris Martin

(born March 2, 1977)

Chris Martin, in full Christopher Anthony John Martin, is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and philanthropist.

References

• Dua Lipa's Instagram
• Dua Lipa's Facebook
• Dua Lipa's Twitter